Trademark Watch - 2 August & Onwards

What ho, folks.

Today could be the day.

The magical trademark day.

While there's a good chance Blizzard completely changed their trademark routine recently, there's also the possibility that they're sticking with the trend set by 50% of their expansions. Namely, WotLK and MoP were both filed on July 27 and discovered on August 2.

Cataclysm was a different affair. It was filed on June 26 and discovered on July 1. This was due to the fact that an Australian website held a relevant domain up until then (wowcataclysm.com). As soon as it expired / Blizzard got hold of it, though, they filed the Cataclysm trademark. So had it not been for the immediate urgency to 'get it done' and claim the domain at that time, Cataclysm might also have been a July 28 / August 2 trademark.

The Burning Crusade was such an early expansion, they probably hadn't even figured out their own routines by then. I hesitate to even include it in the statistics.

It's likely hidden. They did just as much with Hearthstone, filing a patent in a small country with no searchable online database of copyrights to keep it secret-- nobody noticed Hearthstone being patented, yet they were able to get international copyrights by... Rite of expedience or something like that >.> I don't know patent law.

New Signature in development. Legion Windwalker is a garbage class that I no longer wish to play.
Blackrock Foundry was probably the best part of WOD, but that's really just a blackhanded compliment.

I'm not forgetting the Hearthstone scenario. I mention it clearly in the OP.

However, we do not know for certain that this also applies to WoW expansions. The speculation following the trademark is probably good publicity, and raises people's interest in the game and what Blizzard have to say in the months to come. More articles written, more talk, and more live stream tickets sold for Blizzcon.

I'm not forgetting the Hearthstone scenario. I mention it clearly in the OP.

However, we do not know for certain that this also applies to WoW expansions. The speculation following the trademark is probably good publicity, and raises people's interest in the game and what Blizzard have to say in the months to come. More articles written, more talk, and more live stream tickets sold for Blizzcon.

It would be admittedly pretty stupid of them to not 'leak' something soon, considering declining interest and apparent community backlash towards their most recent decisions.

New Signature in development. Legion Windwalker is a garbage class that I no longer wish to play.
Blackrock Foundry was probably the best part of WOD, but that's really just a blackhanded compliment.

I'm not forgetting the Hearthstone scenario. I mention it clearly in the OP.

However, we do not know for certain that this also applies to WoW expansions. The speculation following the trademark is probably good publicity, and raises people's interest in the game and what Blizzard have to say in the months to come. More articles written, more talk, and more live stream tickets sold for Blizzcon.

Remember these guys?

The mongolian pandaren that people wanted to be the Horde counterpart for the Alliance pandaren? Those were made up from speculation and artworks. When Blizzard anounced that the standard chinese pandaren would be a neutral race for both factions, those who expected more were disappointed, and those who expected that weren't surprised.

Speculating from the trademark is fun, but it also creates fan-made expectations that Blizzard has to compete against when making the official announcement.

If they don't reveal anything until Blizzcon, they don't have that problem. Besides, people are already speculating about the theme, they don't need any real information to get hyped.

The mongolian pandaren that people wanted to be the Horde counterpart for the Alliance pandaren? Those were made up from speculation and artworks. When Blizzard anounced that the standard chinese pandaren would be a neutral race for both factions, those who expected more were disappointed, and those who expected that weren't surprised.

Speculating from the trademark is fun, but it also creates fan-made expectations that Blizzard has to compete against when making the official announcement.

If they don't reveal anything until Blizzcon, they don't have that problem. Besides, people are already speculating about the theme, they don't need any real information to get hyped.

I remember, and it's a good point. But then again, they are likely to have a badass Legion expansion for us this time. People were disappointed cause... Pandaren. Not because their ideas of the Pandaren were necessarily that much different from what we got.

I remember, and it's a good point. But then again, they are likely to have a badass Legion expansion for us this time. People were disappointed cause... Pandaren. Not because their ideas of the Pandaren were necessarily that much different from what we got.

So obvious too I mean the falling meteors was enough when Wrathion shows it to you lol

Speculating from the trademark is fun, but it also creates fan-made expectations that Blizzard has to compete against when making the official announcement.

If they don't reveal anything until Blizzcon, they don't have that problem. Besides, people are already speculating about the theme, they don't need any real information to get hyped.

Honestly, I don't recall any strong uproar about "mongolian" pandaren. I just know people fantasized about the pandaren and that was it. Not a big deal. It always happens. It will happen this time, too, irrespective of the leak date.